OXNARD : Contract Awarded to Demolish 2 Hotels

The Oxnard City Council has voted to pay a Saticoy company $35,745 to demolish two hotels as part of a downtown redevelopment program.

Demolition of The Lemon Tree and The Jones hotels in the 500 block of Meta Street will begin within a month after the city finds suitable housing for the hotel tenants.

California Land Clearing Inc. beat out two other bidders for the contract to demolish the two buildings that city officials say are deteriorating and attracting crime. The council on Tuesday unanimously voted to award the contract.

Bertha Ochoa, owner of The Lemon Tree Hotel, recently filed for bankruptcy at a Los Angeles federal court in an effort to prevent the city from condemning and demolishing her hotel. But a federal bankruptcy judge ruled last week that the city can continue condemnation proceedings and demolition, said Steven Kinney, Oxnard redevelopment director.

Ochoa has complained to the City Council that the 44 apartments in her hotel are among the city’s last remaining affordable housing units for the poor. She warned that if the city tears the building down, nearly all of the 150 tenants will have no place to go.

Kinney acknowledges that it will be difficult to find affordable housing for Ochoa’s tenants. “We will do it, but it won’t be easy,” he said.

Ochoa will receive $795,000 for the 25-year-old hotel, he said.

The Lemon Tree Hotel will be razed to make room for a public parking lot, Kinney said.

The Jones Hotel was sold voluntarily to the city for $140,000, Kinney said. Once it is demolished, the hotel site will be left vacant for a future city development, he said.